TRAVEL TIPS
1. At the time of writing, flying to Phu Quoc from Singapore involves a stop at Ho Chi Minh City. However, Vietnam Airlines is planning non-stop flights this year so check with the airline for updates.
2. Do visit the Phu Quoc night market in nearby Duong Dong town. It’s a vibrant, bustling area with plenty of street food and local shops selling the island’s famous fish sauce and pepper.
3. Avoid the rainy season; the best months to visit are from late October to April.
The mini farm has its very own resident goats, chickens and ducks as well as a vegetable garden. It serves as an educational space for families and kids, and contributes to the farm-to-table dining menus.
A taste of Vietnam
Breakfast is as easy-going as it can be, because Fusion’s unique “breakfast anywhere, anytime’” concept means you can enjoy your meal in any of the restaurants, in the privacy of your villa, by the pool, or even on the beach. At Secret Garden, you may go for the daily breakfast buffet where traditional Asian dishes and Western favourites are served (do try the egg coffee topped with frothy whipped egg yolks and condensed milk, and bánh xèo or crispy Vietnamese pancakes). Alternatively, if you don’t feel like stepping out of your villa, try the in-room floating breakfast. A tray of your chosen dish will be delivered and placed carefully on the pool so you can lounge and eat till your heart’s content.
Lunch and dinner can be enjoyed at Pezcá, a seafood restaurant and grill that faces the resort’s main pool and the ocean. Do arrive hungry, because executive chef Florent Passard is determined to feed you (read: portions are huge). Fresh seafood are the mainstay here – and highly recommended. But the menu is varied enough to satisfy everyone, from Grilled Lobster and Chicken Lollipop to Spiced Pork Belly and Phu Quoc Dried Squid and Fish. At sunset, head next door to Soul Kitchen, a bar and lounge for snacks and cocktails, or the Beach Bar, an open-air bar right on the beach.
The extra touch
Instead of butlers and concierges, guests have Fusionistas to take care of their needs. They were certainly a great help during my stay, especially when booking treatments at the 26-room Maia Spa. They recommend the Natural Living Pepper Therapy that combines Swedish massage techniques and pepper essential oil to balance the mind and body. I realise I could easily spend the whole day here if it weren’t for my very comfortable villa.
Phu Quoc is renowned for its spicy fragrant pepper, and the spa itself is set around a pepper garden. It also has an outdoor yoga deck, fitness centre, secluded spa garden and an adults-only pool. Guests can sign up for the spa’s Peppperation Prgramme where they will prepare their pepper body scrub with ingredients plucked from the garden, or take part in a daily programme of yoga, tai chi and meditation.
phuquoc.fusionresorts.com